Only a year has passed since Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot in Arizona. Many pointed to the overheated rhetoric from the Right and a political map that identified her and other Democrats as targets with sniper crosshairs over their districts as the inspiration for the shooting. Whether this is the case is debatable. Regardless of this terrible possibility, the violent rhetoric against Democratic lawmakers has continued unabated. Just a few days ago, a Democratic campaign manager in Arkansas arrived home to find his children’s pet cat murdered with the word ‘Liberal’ scrawled across its fur. And now, Missouri lawmakers are also being threatened.

Remember this? Just another isolated incident, of course.

On Tuesday, several state Democratic Senators and one Republican in the House discovered images of sniper crosshairs on their office doors. Not thinking much of it at the time, some removed the images, only to be replaced with bigger images later on. That’s when the Capitol Police and Missouri State Troopers were called in. Whether it is someone’s poor idea of a prank or a direct threat is unknown. Authorities are taking the incident seriously in light of the Giffords shooting and other recent threats against public figures.

According to the Columbia Daily Tribune, “the stickers were on the doors of all four Democratic women in the Senate — Jolie Justus and Kiki Curls, both of Kansas City, and Maria Chapelle-Nadal and Robin Wright-Jones, both of St. Louis.” A fifth Democratic senator and floor leader, Victor Callahan of Kansas City also found a crosshair image on his door.

Violent rhetoric against Democrats and other Left Wing targets has steadily risen since 2008. Several incidents have occurred targeting politicians and people the Right Wing considers “dangerous.” In the past three years, Right Wing rhetoric has led to the death of Dr. George Tiller by a pro-life fanatic, the killing of a black security guard at the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC by a White Supremacist, the assassination of a federal judge and several bystanders during the attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, among them a 9 year old girl, the killing of a cat belonging to the children of a Democratic campaign manager in Arkansas, and the breaking of windows by rocks thrown through Democratic offices nationwide, among many other incidents, threats, and plots. Ever since President Obama assumed office, gun sales have skyrocketed and the threats against the President have increased. Surely a coincidence.

See? Just another "isolated incident"

As the 2012 Election approaches this November, we should prepare to hear even more of these kinds of stories as conservatives use hate and fear in a desperate attempt to take over the government. Crosshair images are a direct threat in this atmosphere created by the fear and hate-mongering of the Right. How much longer and how many more lives will be lost before we call this what it really is: terrorism?

7 Comments

These are sick bass-turds. It really pisses me off when I hear someone say “Both parties are to blame. They can’t work together, both lie all the time, and the viscious rhetoric come from them all. We ahould just get them all out.” That is just plain ignorance. If you actually LOOK at what is happening, the conservatives are the ones that stated they would not co operate with the president, compromise is a dirty word to them. If you look at Snopes and Factcheck, there is a disproportionate amout of lies coming from the right, and the racism and hatered ALL comes from the right !!! When we fight back or call them on it, suddenly we’re engaging in “class warfare” . There is a BIG difference between telling someone how to live like conservatives do, and saying yo0u want the right to live your life the way you want, like liberals do. Don’t like abortions? don’t get one. Don’t like homosexuallity? Be heterosexual. Believe in a old bearded man in the clouds and the flintstones as history ? Teach your kids that at home, but stick to FACTS in public schools……

Republican politicians must accept some of the blame for this by their toadying up the extreme right wing in this country. Law enforcement need to take these incidents seriously and vigorously prosecute those responsible. This could inflame them further, but some of these neanderthals will get the message. Since they are basically cowards anyway. the threat of spending significant time in prison for a violent crime (which these are)may deter some. Especially if they realize they will lose their right to ever own a gun again.